Outbreak of Neurologic form of Rhino Virus (Equine Herpes Virus - 1)

[alove4horses]

Just got this News Bulletin from my Vet:

Outbreak of Neurologic form of Rhino Virus (Equine Herpes Virus - 1)

Horses at a Cutting Horse Competion in Utah have been diagnosed with the neurologic form of Rhinovirus. Horses returning from the show have spread the disease to various states and western provinces. (This form of Rhino virus is a variant of the disease we vaccinate for with the common 'Flu/Rhino' vaccine your horse probably gets every year.)

At the moment there are no positive horses in the lower mainland and only a few under quarantine in the interior. Most horses that were at the show have not shown any symptoms for long enough that it is unlikely they will come down with the disease or be contagious.

There are no vaccines labelled to protect horses against this form of the virus. There is some thought that the anti-abortion form of the vaccines could possibly have a marginal effect in reducing severity of the disease but this has not been thoroughly proven.

What to do? Keep your horse away from barns with horses that may have been exposed directly by being at the show in Utah or indirectly by having been in contact with such horses or been in facilities where exposed horses may have been housed or shown. If you are at a facility with exposed horses, monitor temperatures and look for signs of runny noses or incoordinated movement in the hind end. Horses with temperatures above 102 F can be tested by your veterinarian to see if they are shedding the virus. Adherence to strict rules for handwashing and keeping separate buckets, equipment and clothing when dealing with unaffected and affected animals is crucial.

[horse99]

Here is the response from the internal med specialist.:


As far as I know this outbreak is currently affecting 9 states and Canada. Both CSU and WSU teaching hospitals are closed due to positive cases. I have not heard so far that this is suspected to be a new strain. It's a well known fact that vaccination for this disease is poorly protective, so this is not major news, unless proven that this truly a new strain.
Please see abstract below discussion vaccination (I think this study was funded by the company selling the modified live vaccine FYI).

Vaccine. 2006 Apr 24;24(17):3636-45. Epub 2006 Feb 13.
Comparison of the efficacy of inactivated combination and modified-live virus vaccines against challenge infection with neuropathogenic equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1).
Goodman LB, Wagner B, Flaminio MJ, Sussman KH, Metzger SM, Holland R, Osterrieder N.
Source

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Abstract
Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is a ubiquitous alphaherpesvirus of horses which causes rhinopneumonitis, abortion and myeloencephalopathy. To test the efficacy of commercial vaccines in protection against neurological EHV-1 challenge, groups of five horses were immunized with modified-live virus or an inactivated vaccine, or received placebo. Horses were challenged by aerosol with a recent virus isolate obtained from a case of paralytic EHV-1. The duration of fever decreased significantly in the modified-live virus vaccine group. Three animals in each of the inactivate and control groups showed alterations in neurological status. When compared to the inactivated vaccine, the modified-live virus vaccine induced significantly lower virus-neutralizing antibodies over the course of the study. The modified-live virus vaccine resulted in low EHV-1-specific IgG(T)/IgGa and IgG(T)/IgGb ratios, suggesting a bias towards a cytotoxic immune response. Virus shedding from the nasopharynx was almost undetectable in the modified-live virus group, and was significantly lower when compared to that in the other groups. Normalized lymphocyte viral genome copies were similar for the three groups, although animals vaccinated with the modified-live virus vaccine were qPCR-positive on fewer days when compared to those of the other groups. Based on data from neurological signs, rectal temperatures, virus isolation from nasal swabs and immune response specificity, we concluded that protection induced by the modified-live virus vaccine is superior to that induced by the inactivated combination vaccine.

And one more:
Vaccine. 2010 Jul 19;28(32):5203-11. Epub 2010 Jun 9.
Control of EHV-1 viremia and nasal shedding by commercial vaccines.
Goehring LS, Wagner B, Bigbie R, Hussey SB, Rao S, Morley PS, Lunn DP.
Source

Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, 300 West Drake Road, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
Abstract
Equine herpesvirus-1 is a cause of outbreaks of abortion and neurological disease. The pathogenesis of both these diseases depends on establishment of viremia. An experiment was performed to determine the protective efficacy of two commercially available vaccines used with an optimized 3-dose vaccination regime: a modified-live viral (MLV) and a high antigen load killed vaccine licensed for abortion control. The study design was a blinded, randomized challenge trial. Three groups of 8 yearling ponies received one of three treatments: MLV vaccine (Rhinomune, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.); killed vaccine (Pneumabort-K, Pfizer Animal Health); or a placebo (control group). Three vaccinations were administered at intervals of 27 and 70 days followed by challenge infection 24 days later. Clinical disease after challenge was significantly reduced in both vaccine groups; the reduction was greater in the MLV vaccine group. Nasal shedding was reduced by at least 1-2 logs in both vaccine groups. The number of days of viremia was significantly reduced in the killed vaccine group only. This study demonstrated that both commercial vaccines significantly suppressed EHV-1 disease and nasal viral shedding, and one vaccine suppressed days of viremia.

Please let me know if I there anything else I can do to help with this apparent massive panic.
Best,

I spoke to him again. He said the vaccine isn't going to gurantee u will get it? It may help? But he said if u are showing u should defn get it.